


change

by CosmicDusty



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Age Difference, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26821621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicDusty/pseuds/CosmicDusty
Summary: Hanzo and gender-neutral reader have been friends for years, but what if that were to change?
Relationships: Hanzo Shimada/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	change

**Author's Note:**

> OK so I wrote this back in 2017 and just found it in my google docs and still kinda like it, so here ya go! 
> 
> there is an age difference, but not in a creepy way. when I wrote this I imagined reader being in their late 20s/early 30s. enjoy!

"We have been hanging out for some time now, right, Hanzo?"

The question is out of the blue and you know it, so it doesn't surprise you when it takes the man a moment to pull his gaze from the common room tv screen to your face. Your expression is neutral, even; his inquisitive.

"Yes, I believe so." 

"And you would say that we're friends?"

He's taken aback by this inquiry, because of course you are. You have worked closely together for some years now, not that you interacted outside of missions for the first stretch. It took some pestering on your part until the stoic man finally caved to your requests to hang out. After some meals taken together in the canteen you managed to somehow worm your way into his daily life, and he, to his surprise, found that he didn't quite mind. He had thought he was better on his own, but now he cannot imagine a day that does not include you. Sometimes it is even too much to sit too far apart on the same couch; right now you sit with your thighs pressed together, his bare arm resting on the back of the couch behind your head. 

Thinking the question silly, he barks, "Of course. Why?" He catches himself and ruffles your hair, softening his tone to repeat, "Why do you ask?"

Hesitating only a moment, you glance away from his piercing gaze to wonder, "Do you ever think we could be something more? Sometimes I think about that. A lot. I think about you a lot, Hanzo."

Again, you've caught him off guard. Looking down at you he crinkles his nose and narrows his eyes; his arm pulls away from your shoulder. In a moment lasting no longer than a quick breath he takes in your skin, unmarred by age, your youthful eyes shining up at him. You observe him as well in this brief pause; the set of his mouth, drawing in of his brow, the salt and pepper running through his hair, his beard. 

His answer is a decisively curt, bordering offended, "No."

Despite how ready you thought you were for this answer, how many times you thought over this scenario and came to the conclusion that he would not want you as you do him, you feel a dejected sadness wash over you. 

"That’s okay, but… can I at least ask why? It's not because I’m also friends with your brother, is it? Because if it is you should know I'm not going to just stop being his friend."

"What? No." Hanzo shakes his head, unable to understand why you link his response to the younger Shimada but not to his own inadequacies. "You... you are too good for me. I’m not worthy of your affections; you're still young and beautiful, and I'm just an old man." He looks away from you, frowning, when your laugh rings out.

"Hanzo, do you really think of yourself as an old man? You're only thirty-eight. If you want to see a real old man go track down 76." You stop yourself only to add, "Never tell him I said that."

Hanzo can't help it; he chuckles. He thinks that was your intention, you don't really like awkwardness hanging in the air too long and you usually defuse it with jokes such as this, but he could also feel the seriousness of what you said. When you place a hand on his shoulder -- so little, he can't help but think -- he turns those warm brown eyes back on you. 

"Hanzo, I really, truly like you. I'm an adult and I can think for myself, and I know that if you do also have feelings for me then you're thinking somehow you'd be coercing me into this, but you wouldn't be. I'm all in, if you want me as a lover or if you just want to stay friends. It's fine."

The man holds your steady gaze before tilting his head back and letting out a groan. 

You can't stop the shiver that runs through you when his deep baritone rumbles, "You don't understand what your words are doing to me, little flower. I've been pushing down these feelings for so long, I don't think I can anymore now that you've said this."

"Then don’t," you breathe.

Butterflies erupt in your belly and you swear your heart might fly out of your chest. In all of your daydreams you never seriously thought about this outcome; you told him simply to get it off your chest and to stop feeling like you were somehow being dishonest. But here you are, and his warm hand is slipping over yours, stilling the tremble that you hadn't even noticed.

"I just wonder what prompted you to tell this to me now, nervous one." 

You hear the smile in his voice and answer with a laugh, "You didn't hear this from me, but Jesse may have had something to do with it."

"Ah, I should have known it was the cowboy."

Hanzo turns to you and wraps his free hand around the back of your neck, gently pulling you forward so he can press his lips to your forehead. 

“I will have to remember to thank him later.”


End file.
